WHITE!!!!;The color of your heart?????????????
(A wall flower’s guide to finding God)
Chapter 8
(Why you shouldn’t run away from your problems….)
The test period came and went quickly. Feyikemi and I avoided bringing up the topic of that Sunday, and we both managed to put it behind us. I apologized to her for my outburst, and she waved it off, telling me that she had already forgotten about it.
I also sent my mother a short text message, in obedience of my sister’s words, even though the instruction was to call her.
But abeg, the best I could do was a text message.
My mother never replied me though.
So, I put that behind me as well, I was good at dodging my problems.
But there was one thing I wasn’t able to put behind me.
Sean.
I still needed to apologize to him, but I didn’t know how.
I had managed to avoid him, too scared and embarrassed to approach him, though I could feel that it was just a matter of time before something would happen that I would be forced to face him, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
I sighed to myself as the woman before me hacked the Titus fish into three parts. I scrunched my nose at the size of the fish.
The woman had sold me a scrawny looking thing just because I had begged her to cut the price from 150 to 100 Naira for me.
Na wa oh. She couldn’t even be kind, upon the fact that I’m her regular customer.
I struggled to hold the several nylons in my hand, hissing at how stupid I was, not that it was a surprising thing, while trying to keep track of which nylon belonged to who.
Immediately I had said I was going to the market, two of my roommates had jumped me like I was owing them money, begging me to help them but their goods, as if they had been waiting for me to announce that I was going to the market.
Ah!!!
Sometimes I wondered whether those girls in my room had spiritual eyes that they used to watch me.
I was already helping Feyi buy tomatoes, now look at me, almost being swallowed by nylons. Anyone who saw me would think I was buying food to feed a family of six.
And the things they were buying were not even small things.
God!!!
Those girls are dem0ns I tell you. Dem0ns!
I hissed as I transferred the heaviest nylon from my left hand to my right, as my hands were already starting to ache because of someone else’s bukata.
My phone rang in my pocket as I collected my nylon of fish, which was the only thing I had come to the market to buy o.
I hissed again. Who was calling me? How was I supposed to pick it? Through telekenesis?
I put two of the nylons and my armpit as I struggled to pull the phone out of my pocket. I turned my head to the side as I finally got it out, then spotted Sean and a familiar looking middle aged woman walking out of the eatery beside the market and right in my direction.
You see!!
I was right!!!
I was sure God was just watching me behave like a mumu since while trying to avoid Sean, knowing that when He was ready for me He would deal with me.
I panicked, and began to look futilely for somewhere to hide.
I couldn’t face him yet! Not that I knew when I would finally be ready but it was certainly not now!
I stepped forward and my foot hit a stone, plunging me forward and I fell.
Everything was happening in slow motion oh.
I fell like a buffalo, landing on my hands and feet,and grazing my knee on the same cursed stone.
All the nylons dropped from my hands, and I hurried to grab them, but Feyikemi’s tomatoes had already moved faster than it’s destiny, rolling on the ground, before finally stopping directly at the feet of the woman beside Sean.
Ah!!!!
I was sure that the Tomato was a relative of the beaker I had knocked over when I first met Sean.
My face burned hot in embarrassment, and I began to wish I was an Earth bender.
Why was this kind of thing always happening around Sean? Maybe he had really placed a curse on me.
“Aunty! È dé ròrá oh! (Be careful oh!)” The fish seller said to me, not bothering to get up from her seat to help me.
The familiar woman picked up the Tomato, dusting the sand off it and hurrying over to my side, while I saw Sean sigh and roll his eyes.
“Are you okay young lady?” She asked with concern, and I struggled to pinpoint where I had seen her face before.
She began to help me pack my fallen goods , while I searched around for my phone, praying that the screen hadn’t cracked.
The woman stared at me as we finally gathered everything.
“Ah ha, I was just thinking that I’ve seen you somewhere before. Do you remember me? You ran in front of our car about a month ago.”
It clicked just then.
“Yes ma. I remember you ma.” I responded awkwardly.
The woman’s voice was so refined and polished, she spoke good English, with even more of a British accent than Sean had. She was dressed so decently and neatly, and yet here she was, kneeling in the sand, trying to help me find my Tomatoes.
She helped me to my feet, then noticed the bleeding graze on my knee.
“Oh my, dear, you’re hurt.” She said, then blew a puff of air.
“You’re a bit of a klutz aren’t you darling?” She said affectionately and I cringed ,then began to wonder what this woman was doing with Sean.
Was it possible that he had been in the car too that time?
No wonder he was always saying weird stuff.
All his insults suddenly started to make sense.
“Oh, silly me. What’s your name?” The woman asked, slapping her hand on her forehead.
“I- Ilerioluwa.”
“Wow! What a beautiful name for such a cute girl! I’m Julia. Where’s your hostel dear? Let me drop you off.”
“N-no problem m-ma….”
“I insist. You’re injured my dear, so let me take you. It’s no trouble okay?”
I sighed in defeat, then told her my hostel name.
“Sean, would you take some of the things from her, and stop standing around like an old tree?” She scolded and I stifled a giggle.
I dared not laugh, or Sean would probably kill me.
The three of us us then headed to the large and familiar Range Rover, and I got in the back seat.
The woman seemed to know her way around the campus, as she didn’t need to ask me for directions before finding my hostel.
She was cheerful and jovial, the complete opposite of Sean, and she spoke freely to me.
She was particularly surprised when Sean grumbled to her that we were coursemates.
“What a small world! Isn’t this fate?” She said gaily, and Sean scoffed.
“Sean, don’t tell me you don’t bother to interact with any of your coursemates? My gosh Sean you haven’t changed a bit since you were a child! Tsk tsk, don’t mind this boy Ilerioluwa, he’s always picky about everything, from food to friends, behaving like a five year old!”
I giggled silently, musing on her words.
It seemed like Sean and I had more in common than we knew.
I too, hadn’t changed much since I was a child, still retaining the same stupid habits.
Sean scowled at me from the side mirror, and I bit my lip in silence.
“You’re so quiet Ilerioluwa. Please don’t feel uncomfortable around me okay?”
“Y-yes ma.”
“Stop calling me ma, it makes me feel old dearie. Call me Julia, like how Sean does.”
Sean glanced at her. “Gee Julia, why not just let her become part of the family already?” He muttered irritatedly.
I had already guessed at this point that she wasn’t his mother.
“Even if you don’t like her Sean, I happen to like her a lot, and I’m sure she likes me too,right?”
“Y-yes ma….I mean….Miss Julia.” I said nervously, and the woman laughed.
We finally arrived at my hostel, and I trudged out of the car.
“Please take care of yourself Ilerioluwa, no more injuries okay? I’ll tell Sean to keep an eye on you for me.” Julia said warmly and I smiled.
“Okay.”
She nudged Sean with her elbow.
“Aren’t you going to tell her goodbye?”
“What is it? Don’t I have rights anymore?” He protested.
“It’s fine Miss Julia. Thank you very much.”
“No problem dear.” She said as she gave me one final wave, and they drove off.
I walked tiredly back to my room, and as I stepped in, my roommate Dupe ran up to me.
“Come come Ileri, who dropped you off?” She asked nosily.
“Nobody.” I spat out, shoving her nylon into her hands.
“Na wa oh. It’s not as if I was forcing you to tell me.” She paused. “Wait oh Ileri, ahhhnnn see sand on my fruit nah, did you drop it on the ground?”
I ignored her and headed to the bathroom, dropping the rest of the nylons on my bed.
With the day I had just had, if I replied her now, I might just mistakenly curse her.
Mmmtchewww.
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